Rappelling down the 150 ft Dudhiware Waterfall in Lonavala

Hanging at 90 degrees
on the side of the waterfall, I took a few cautious steps down, as the
instructor kept saying, 'Don't bend your knee'. The wind howled against the
valley, it started pouring heavily and I took slow steps at the edge of the
waterfall, controlling my urge to look down. But then I slipped, panicked and
hit the rock hard...

On the last day of July, I was on my way to Dudhiware
Waterfalls in Lonavala for
rappelling with some of my trek-buddies from the Kalavantin
Durg trek. The trip had been organised by the MASK group. We left from
Mumbai early in the morning in a bus and after 3 hours of travelling through
heavy rains, which had completely clouded the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, reached
our destination.

After a quick briefing, registration and breakfast at the
base village Dudhiware, we headed to the waterfall. Walking through paddy
fields, over rocks and through small streams, we reached at the base of the
waterfalls and spotted people rappelling through the water down the falls. This
was when I first realised the gravity of the task we had taken up and a quick
rush of adrenaline and anxiety went through my body and mind.

Our first glimpse of what was to follow. Rappelling at Dudhiware Waterfalls, Lonavala

The rain had stopped and the view of the clouds covering the
nearby hills that met our eyes was breathtaking. Mangesh, the head instructor,
guided us through the various equipments for rappelling and the dos and don’ts
for our safety.

As we waited our turn (which turned out to be several
hours), we visited the other waterfall in the vicinity for some fun time in the
water and for pictures. I couldn’t recall the last time I had visited a
waterfall. Rohitha and Srikanth had, this time, got their son along and
surprisingly the 4 year old was equally enthusiastic and loved playing in the
water (and later, doing the flying fox). I took the moment to walk behind the
waterfall and see the water drops falling from the top. It’s not an experience
most waterfalls provide.

Mangesh and Arpit guiding us through the equipments and technique. Rappelling at Dudhiware Waterfalls, Lonavala

View from behind a waterfall. Dudhiware Waterfalls, Lonavala

The beauty of the landscape was enchanting. Dudhiware Waterfalls, Lonavala

Passing time with corn. Rappelling at Dudhiware Waterfalls, Lonavala

Soon it started pouring heavily again and we stood near the
falls, waiting for our turn for rappelling. Amidst chances of taking some
amazing pictures of nature, I struggled to keep my phone dry inside a plastic
pouch. With the rains came heavy winds and soon we were trembling due to the cold.
Late in the afternoon, it was finally my turn. Larissa came along. Srikanth had
already done it and Rohitha, Renita and Avinash followed. My friend Arpit, our
official MASK guide, kindly became our phone-keeper and photographer.

We got the gear attached to ourselves (elbow and knee pads,
helmet, gloves and body harness) and walked up the hill. The rain had stopped
although the weather remained cloudy. A quick 5 minute trek led us to the top
of the waterfall. I sat there for a few minutes and the only thought that
seemed to flood my mind was that of my previous rappelling experience…that first step…

It was back in May 2011 at Camp
Ganga Riviera in Rishikesh. I had gone
there with my college seniors for rafting and other adventure sports. The
kayaking, cliff jumping and even rafting had been emotionally smooth. It was
the rappelling that had got all my fears out. As the instructor released the
rope and I lowered my body at the edge of the cliff, hanging parallel to the
ground, picking up my first foot and moving it down the waterfall had felt like
an impossible task. Looking down, all I could see was the flowing water of
Ganga and terror had struck me. After many long minutes, I had been able to
overcome the fear and taken the first step down. It was a joyride after that. But that first step…

‘The longer I sit and
observe others, the more the anxiety would increase,’ I thought and got up.
Don’t think too much, just do it!

After a few minutes, the instructor called. It was my turn
next and I made my way into the rapidly flowing water. It wasn't cold. The
instructor attached the rope to the harness on my waist and gave me some quick
instructions. The wind howled against the valley, it started pouring heavily
and I stood there, at the edge of the waterfall, controlling my urge to look
down. I tried keeping the memory of the previous attempt at bay.

I looked down and the ground was too far away. One hand
holding the rope on the back, one grabbing the rope in front, I was standing
horizontally on the waterfall. There was no going back. It was now or
never.

I took a few cautious steps down, slowly, as the instructor
kept saying, 'Don't bend your knee'. No
looking down, I told myself. About 10 steps later, I realised, I hadn’t
given any time to the ‘first step’ fear to flourish. I beamed in happiness.

Just then I slipped, panicked and hit the rock hard as the
rope swivelled to one side.

‘Be careful, keep your
knees straight and get back in position. Stay to the left,’ the instructor
shouted from top.

I adjusted my position and just a few steps later, I could
no longer see or hear the instructor. It’s
got to be me doing it by myself now. I won’t fail, I thought and carefully
placed one foot below the other and scaled the rock.

Soon I was at the centre of the waterfall and my feet were
grabbing the rock through the flowing water. I came parallel to two more people
rappelling and realised I wasn’t alone. But
my life completely depends on this 10 mm rope in my hand, I thought.

I rappelled down further, one step at a time. With each
passing moment it was getting difficult to keep a hold on the rope. My left
hand was going numb. I spotted some joints that the rope had, what if it snaps? I thought.

'I came parallel to two more people rappelling and realised I wasn’t alone.'Rappelling at Dudhiware Waterfalls, Lonavala. Photo credits: Larissa

Rappelling at Dudhiware Waterfalls, Lonavala

A few steps later, suddenly my feet didn’t touch any rock
and were suspended in mid-air. Water hit the helmet like innumerable stones
being hurled on my head. I didn’t panic but wondered how I was ever going to
get down now. I was hanging in mid-air with the rope. I looked down and a shy
of relief passed in my head. I could see the ground now, just about 25-30 feet
below me and an instructor holding the end of the rope. He waved at me to
slowly release the rope and float down. A few moments later, I was standing
vertically on the ground, alive and without a single scratch on my body.

The instructor removed the rope from the harness and I was
free to go, alive and with a big smile on my face.

As I walked out of the waterfall, Arpit stood smiling. Even
in the heavy rains, he had managed to click a few pictures (of someone else who
he assumed was me before realising it was the wrong person and then focussing
the camera on the right ‘me’)! Haha…

We waited for another hour, as the rest of our group
including Rohitha, Renita and Avinash, rappelled down. The rain wasn’t going to
stop anytime today and the flow of the waterfall was visibly increasing with
the rain water. I did the flying fox as well, and even in the absence of any
deep valley or waterbody below it, it was fun.

We then walked back to the village, hungry and drenched,
through the fields which were now more flooded than the morning, spotting some
crabs here and there. In the compounds of a primary school, we changed into dry
cloths and went for a late-lunch at 6 PM. The food had been prepared by a
family in the village and it was savouring to have home-made food after a long
time.

We were exhausted with the day’s activity and slept through
almost the entire bus journey back to Mumbai, arriving well past midnight.

It had been a long and tiring day and I beamed in happiness
that I had overcome the fear of the first
step. Had I not gone and sat at home, probably the fear would have simply
multiplied over the years.

What adventure does to
our body and mind is it brings us closer to nature, to ourselves and to people around
us in ways we don’t even realise. And that’s exactly why we ought to get our
body out of the comfort zone and with the right precautions, scale new heights.

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